Monthly Archives: December 2016

We will be seeing more acquistions like this in the future. A Chicago powerful mobile marketing firm buys a more regional firm in Miami. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/vibes-acquires-red-fish-media-150000813.html

It may seem intuitive to many of us that location is a key feature for mobile marketers. This year the MMA has been very focused on this topic. I have just spent a few hours reviewing MMA Location Based Advertising Measurement Guidelines.

Here are a few things that I learned. First of all, the device and user location is used to produce longitude and latitude. That is basic to the discussion.

There are many ways that measurement can be delivered. I’ll list the top 8 below:

As part of a bid request (impression, user, device)

Beacons

GPs-identifies user location 10-100 meters

WiFi- 30-100 meters and indoors is better. Not subject to provider/carrier limitations

IP address- Static devices such as PC’s connected TV or OTT. Not very accurate.

Registration Data

8. Behavioral analysis

So if you are asked to give your “location” in app, and you do so, these are ways you can be tracked. Yes, marketers are into tracking the results of their campaigns. Will they zero in on you, personally? It’s not likely.

Here is a link to the press release about the guidelines. http://www.mmaglobal.com/news/iab-mrc-mma-propose-updates-ad-measurement-guidelines-moving-industry-count-begin-render-model

If you would like to read the guidelines and comment, before the end of January, here is the website to visit. http://www.mmaglobal.com/documents/mobile-app-and-mobile-web-advertising-measurement-guidelines

There’s been talk about VR for decades. Virtual Reality is finally here for the mobile marketing of brands. Companies like VirtualSKY are tapping into the $7 billion VR sales market, where the prediction (Trendforce, 2016) expects a $70 billion market for devices by 2020. VirtualSKY, part of the airpush global network, from Los Angeles, CA, has created immersive video advertising with games and entertainment in a 360 degree space, your head.

In 2014, Oculus was bought by Facebook for $2 billion, betting that VR will be a significant development of entertainment in the future.

At this time, there are three main VR devices in the high end entertainment, HTC Vive, Oculus and Sony PlaystationVR, and all sell for between $500-800 plus the cost of the PC or game device. Of course, Samsung GearVR sells for between free ($0) with purchase of the phone to $100, MergeVR for $40 and then there’s the cardboard, with about five million of these now available. Some firms like Tom’s Shoes are using them as promotional materials already.

Talk in VR is happy these days. What is consistent is “The VR smile” coming from those who just tested out the product. People like using VR, because it’s the new shiny object.

At SXSW, McDonald’s created a “box” that was to represent the inside of the Happy Meal container, i.e., a work of art that you can customize. It became performance art. (#mcdigital)

Additional interest was in filming people using virtual reality to create, for example, freelance virtual reality painting. VirtualSKY is creating customized experiences for advertisers and non-profits to promote their business via VR. Early users include: Mini Cooper, Boursin cheese (France) and Charity:Water, a non profit organization who is using this for awareness and fund raising.

Targeted ads demand great content, can deliver complete experiences, are scalable and targetable. They can be used for specific advertising flight dates, in immersive brand worlds with content that can be re-purposed, appealing to first-mover status seekers. VirtualSKY provides three advertiser choices: Sponsored ads, experience ads and 360 ads.

The cons are that the advertising is transparent and has limited customizability as of now.

What is an Experience Ad? A user would be watching an experience they are having in VR. As they complete a task, the game pauses and a compelling relevant ad would be served as the next game loads up.

Picture yourself with a device that completely covers your eyes and ears, so you are immersed in the experience of being entertained, such as in a gaming environment. You complete the game, you level up to the next phase and between games, you see an ad for a product/service that has been selected based on the segmenting already done to target you.

VirtualSKY uses the tagline “targeting and delivery at scale,” and with one ad campaign, all platforms can use the same creative elements, they say. So that’s what virtual reality advertising is about, targeting you while you’re in the VR environment.

Questions:

What kinds of client advertising do you think will be most feasible for this medium, what industries, products, and length of commercials would be best?

How could targeting be improved?

What kind of metrics could a business get from this type of ad?

How can a user click or request additional information if /when they are interested?

What do you predict for the future of this new advertising via mobile devices/

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